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Sunday, 28 February 2016

273) India’s First International Fleet Review held on 18.02.2001 at Mumbai: Commemorative Postage stamps issued by the Department of posts, India in 2001:

273)
India’s First International Fleet Review held on 18.02.2001 at Mumbai:
Commemorative Postage stamps issued by the Department of posts, India in 2001:

A
Naval Fleet Review is a long-standing tradition followed by
Navies across the Globe. It is a grand occasion when every operational ship is spruced
up, proudly displaying its crest/emblem and its company (officers and crew) in
a spirit of loyalty and allegiance to its Sovereign and the State/Nation.

The
concept of a Review of naval ships was conceived as a show of naval might or an
inspection of readiness for battle at sea.

Presently, the Fleet Review has transformed
into more of a “symbolic sail past” where warships are assembled
without any belligerent intentions. Sometimes, such Reviews are conducted as a
“celebratory demonstration” for victories achieved in battle or for a
coronation of a monarch or on the occasion of visits by important State Guests.

On
many occasions, ships have sailed across the seas to participate in Fleet
Reviews of friendly nations.
When this happens, the assembly of ships undergoes an “International
Fleet Review (IFR)”.

Indian
Naval tradition dates back to Vedic times, but there are few instances of
records of Fleet Reviews over the ages:

India
has a naval tradition dating back to Vedic times, although records of Fleet
Reviews are found few and far between.

The
Chola Kingdom had a powerful Navy with early Chola Naval ships/Sea Admirals
sailing all the way up to the Pacific Islands from Kaveripatnam for trade and
intelligence gathering for setting up beneficial alliances. At one time, the
Chola Navy comprised of about 1000 longboats/warships which became a powerful
diplomatic symbol all over Asia. There are reports that there were regular
Fleet Reviews under Rajendra Chola I whose Empire stretched from Indonesia, to
Cambodia in the East and had influential strongholds all the way to China,
Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) and Arabian countries.

The Marathas too had a powerful navy of about 800-1000 ships/longboats and had a
tradition of Fleet Reviews during the supremacy of the Marathas.

Present
Day:

In
India, the President, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, reviews
the Fleet once during his tenure. Since India’s Independence in 1947, ten
Fleet Reviews have taken place.

The
first Fleet Review was held in 1953 and the last was held
in 2011.

Prior
to the “International Fleet Review 2016” (held in February 2016),
the only other time that an International Fleet Review was held in India was in
February 2001, off Mumbai, in which ships from 29 countries had
participated. I had an occasion to witness the International Fleet Review in
2001. Much goodwill and appreciation was earned by India from the participating
nations in the IFR.

The
First Presidential International Fleet Review – 2001 held at Mumbai on
18.02.2001:

The First International
Fleet Review was held in the waters off Mumbai in 2001, as a symbol of global
unity.

This was the 8th
overall Review of the Indian Fleet which was given a wider scope as the “International
Fleet Review – 2001” by inviting foreign countries to participate by sending
their warships. More than 70 ships and submarines from more than 20 Nations participated
in the exercise and were anchored off the Gateway of India for almost a month.
The Programme included maritime Seminars, speeches, parades and review by the
President Shri K.R.Narayan.

The Department of Posts
issued a set of four Stamps to commemorate the First International Fleet Review
showcasing historical Indian ships and images of ships across the Centuries.

I have a few days ago
received the above set of four stamps from the epost-office, Philatelic Museum,
New Delhi issued on the occasion of the IFR – 2001. The four stamps depict a potsherd pinting from Mohenjo-Daro, two ships of the Maratha Navy - "Pal" and "Galbat" and a modern day sail training ship - "Tarangini".

The above stamp depicts a
potsherd painting (A potsherd is a broken piece of ceramic material, especially
one found in an Archaeological excavation) of a boat belonging to the Mohenjo-Daro
period (Mohenjo-Daro was built in the 26th Century BC. It was one of
the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation which around 3000
BC was known as the Harappan civilisation), which also was adopted as a part of
the official logo of IFR – 2011. This postage stamp is of the value of Rs.15/-.

This stamp depicts the “Pal”
which was a three-masted Maratha man-of-war (warship) with 12 to 20 Guns placed
on its broadsides. The Postage stamp is of the value of Rs.3/-.

This stamp depicts the “Galbat”,
a one-masted longboat designed for high speeds and having enemy ship boarding
parties on board. The Postage stamp is of the value of Rs.3/-.

This stamp depicts the “Tarangini”
which is a sail training ship of the Indian Navy that was a part of the IFR
-2001.

The
Maratha Navy from which the ships “Pal” and “Galbat” have been depicted on
these Stamps:

The Maratha Empire was
established by Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1674. From its inception, the Maratha
Empire had a Naval fighting fleet at its command.

Chhatrapati Shivaji is
hailed as the Father of the Maratha Navy.

Chhatrapati Shivaji realised
that the coast-line of the Konkan, broken by many creeks, offered excellent
vantage points for ships and the rocky islands near the coast presented
advantageous sites for naval strongholds. He believed that a strong Navy would
not only ensure keeping the English, Portuguese, the Siddhis of Janjira and the
Dutch at bay, but would also provide protection to his Empire’s merchant
vessels free from seeking permission from the Portuguese authorities in Goa
which was obtained under very difficult conditions. A strong Maratha Navy would
entitle his subjects the same rights and freedom on the Seas as the European
merchantmen and also give them a share in the maritime trade.

Towards building a
powerful navy, Shivaji built several naval forts like – Jaigad, Padmadurg,
Ratnadurg, Sindhugarh, Suvarndurg, Vijayadurg et al and also provided the naval bases with
docks for the construction and repair of armed and trading vessels, for example
at Ratnagiri and Anjanwel, besides building a merchant fleet for conducting
trade from the Arabic countries, including Muscat & Zanzibar, across the Arabian
Sea.

Photo taken by Sumita of our group standing at the gate of Ratnadurg Fort

A brief history of the Ratnadurg Fort/Naval base photo taken during our visit to Ratnagiri in 2012.

The above is a photo of the ramparts/Fort wall on Jaigad Fort, taken during our trip to Ratnagiri & surrounding areas.(For more information on our trip to Ratnagiri, please click on the following link: (Trip to Ratnagiri - A Beach Bum's Paradise).

Shivaji’s naval fleet
consisted of at least two squadrons, each with a minimum of around two hundred
ships of different classes ready for any eventuality at all times. The ship
building industry continued to provide the Empire more and more ships till the
strength of each squadron steadily climbed to about 400-500 warships. The
Maratha Navy consisted of different types of Warships – Gurabs, Galbats or
Gallivats, Pals and Manjhuas.

Dominance
of the Maratha Navy built by Chhatrapati Shivaji:

The dominance of the
Maratha Navy began with the appointment of Kanhoji Angre, as the “Darya-Saranga” or “Sarkhel”, the Admiral of the Maratha Fleet in 1698. Under that authority, Kanhoji was the master
of the Western coast of India from Mumbai to Vengurla, except for Janjira which
was a vassal fort of the Mughal Empire. The Colonial powers were very wary
of his prowess as a Sea-Admiral and despite their best efforts, Kanhoji
continued to harass them even after Shivaji passed away.

Until his passing away in 1729,
he repeatedly attacked the colonial powers of Britain and Portugal, capturing
numerous vessels of the British East India Company and extracting huge ransoms
from them for their return. In November 1721, a joint fleet of four
Man-of-wars consisting of over 6000 men of the British and Portuguese Navy which
attacked the Maratha Fleet was roundly defeated by Kanhoji’s Fleet at Alibag. Several
attempts by the British to capture his naval bases left the British red-faced
and roundly defeated.

During his lifetime, he
remained the unconquered master of the Arabian Sea from Surat to South Konkan
and the European colonists were continuously harassed by Kanhoji Angre’s
fleets.

Posted on 29.02.2016:

epostoffice Philately Museum, New Delhi has brought out a limited
edition of a book on Presidential Fleet Reviews titled “A Commemoration of
Presidential Fleet Reviews – Ekya”.
The book is duly signed by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R K Dhowan.

The Cover of the Limited Edition Book

Original Presidential
Fleet Review stamps released by India Post in the years 1984, 1989, 2001, 2006,
2011 and 2016 are also included in this special collector’s edition. Details of
the stamps are as follows.

This limited
edition signed book is priced at Rs.5000/- and it is available
only on epostoffice and it is available now. (The link for booking this limited edition is available on the Indiapost
website under the "Philately Section”)

Thank you Razia. I have recently started writing about Philately and have posted about 60 articles on my blog out of about 320 posts, numismatics & Currencies being my first hobby since 2011. Visited the link you have forwarded to me. Very good information.

About Me

I am Rajeev Prasad, a retired State Bank of India officer who had been collecting coins in a shoe box without having a serious interest. Only after quitting my job I got the time to take serious interest in developing my coin collection into a hobby. A pity, because I would have had more opportunity to lay my hands on more 'exclusive coins' while in the Bank. Anyway, as they say,better late than never. If you have any views to share with me regarding this blog , please contact me on my email rajeevprasad1208@gmail.com. I also have a twitter account @prasad_rajeev.
I had an opportunity to participate in a Documentary on the life and times of the 25 paise coin titled “Chal Basi Chavanni” (The four anna/twenty five paise coin passes away), aired by STAR NEWS on 29th and 30th June 2011. The programme helped in making many persons hold back onto their “chavannis”, the little round beauties, instead of returning them to Banks .